‘Double DRS’ has slowed Lotus’ development – Mika Salo“If the developments do not work in Japan, they will fall out of the championship battle,” former Sauber and Toyota driver Salo told the Finnish broadcaster MTV3. ... I think it’s likely that they have focused so much on the double DRS that many other things have been missed, and it has slowed down the development of the car overall”. link

TALK US THROUGH THE SINGAPORE RACE WEEKEND…If the race was in isolation then I think we could say ‘it was just a bad race, let’s put it behind us’, however it was the third in a sequence of uninspiring performances and therefore something that we need to arrest to ensure that we make the most of the six remaining races this season and give ourselves a little more of the bounce that we had earlier in the year.

HAVE WE IDENTIFIED WHY SINGAPORE FAILED TO LIVE UP TO EXPECTATIONS ?There wasn’t a sole reason as to why we were sub-par in Singapore. The first explanation is that we didn’t do a particularly good job on Friday with our starting set up on the car, so it took us until Saturday morning to be somewhere close to the mark and this leaves you a bit behind in the game. Secondly, some of the upgrades we had applied for Singapore did not perform, causing us to revert to an earlier configuration of the car. In the meantime the lion’s share of our competitors had moved forwards. Finally, in the all-important qualifying session neither driver had a good lap when it counted. Kimi had a mistake at T1 on his Q2 lap and Romain had a rather dramatic Q3 lap meaning he wasn’t able to repeat his earlier performances. From that point onwards, if you’re back down the grid in Qualifying then that’s usually where you’ll stay on a tight street course.

HOW DIFFICULT IS IT INTRODUCING AND VALIDATING UPGRADES WITH NO TESTING AND WEATHER CAUSING REDUCED RUNNING ON A FRIDAY ?The simulation methods in the factory are good, allowing around 70% - 80% of the upgrades that we put on the car to work straight away with no problem. Of those that suffer birth pangs, a fair proportion are eventually found to perform as expected when given a second hearing. When you’re not running dedicated track testing there’s a whole raft of variables you’re not in control of. The drivers might not get clear laps and with the track constantly evolving plus tyres not always being a new set for each run you do not have a stable baseline to compare against. These factors can cloud the assessment of a new part â€“ so if you are struggling then you very often remove them from the car out of an abundance of caution and look for a suitable opportunity in the future to have a second go with them.

LOOKING TO SUZUKA NOW, HOW DO YOU FEEL IT WILL SUIT THE E20 ?It’s a track with a wide range of cornering speeds, but there are several very fast turns in the Silverstone mould ; in particular Turn 1, the ‘S’ bends and130R. These are features that have suited us so far but it’s a tight season and, as we’ve shown, you really need to hit the ground running in order to have a good weekend.

HOW DO YOU THINK OUR CHANCES IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP ARE GOING BOTH FOR DRIVERS’ AND CONSTRUCTORS’ ?Fourteen races in and we’ve had a handful of results that have allowed Ferrari to open up a small gap on us in the championship. We fight each weekend with strong and dedicated opposition who will leave us for dead if we take our eye off the ball for one moment, but the great thing about this sport is that the opportunity to do the same is always there for your team as well. Every weekend you have a chance at redemption and we’re fortunate to have a number of items that we believe will improve our car over the remaining races. The gap to Ferrari is small in terms of the points available, so our goal over the next six races is to overtake them in the championship and to put Kimi back on a path that will allow him to close the gap to the front.

TALK US THROUGH THE SINGAPORE RACE WEEKEND…If the race was in isolation then I think we could say ‘it was just a bad race, let’s put it behind us’, however it was the third in a sequence of uninspiring performances and therefore something that we need to arrest to ensure that we make the most of the six remaining races this season and give ourselves a little more of the bounce that we had earlier in the year.

HAVE WE IDENTIFIED WHY SINGAPORE FAILED TO LIVE UP TO EXPECTATIONS ?There wasn’t a sole reason as to why we were sub-par in Singapore. The first explanation is that we didn’t do a particularly good job on Friday with our starting set up on the car, so it took us until Saturday morning to be somewhere close to the mark and this leaves you a bit behind in the game. Secondly, some of the upgrades we had applied for Singapore did not perform, causing us to revert to an earlier configuration of the car. In the meantime the lion’s share of our competitors had moved forwards. Finally, in the all-important qualifying session neither driver had a good lap when it counted. Kimi had a mistake at T1 on his Q2 lap and Romain had a rather dramatic Q3 lap meaning he wasn’t able to repeat his earlier performances. From that point onwards, if you’re back down the grid in Qualifying then that’s usually where you’ll stay on a tight street course.

HOW DIFFICULT IS IT INTRODUCING AND VALIDATING UPGRADES WITH NO TESTING AND WEATHER CAUSING REDUCED RUNNING ON A FRIDAY ?The simulation methods in the factory are good, allowing around 70% - 80% of the upgrades that we put on the car to work straight away with no problem. Of those that suffer birth pangs, a fair proportion are eventually found to perform as expected when given a second hearing. When you’re not running dedicated track testing there’s a whole raft of variables you’re not in control of. The drivers might not get clear laps and with the track constantly evolving plus tyres not always being a new set for each run you do not have a stable baseline to compare against. These factors can cloud the assessment of a new part â€“ so if you are struggling then you very often remove them from the car out of an abundance of caution and look for a suitable opportunity in the future to have a second go with them.

LOOKING TO SUZUKA NOW, HOW DO YOU FEEL IT WILL SUIT THE E20 ?It’s a track with a wide range of cornering speeds, but there are several very fast turns in the Silverstone mould ; in particular Turn 1, the ‘S’ bends and130R. These are features that have suited us so far but it’s a tight season and, as we’ve shown, you really need to hit the ground running in order to have a good weekend.

HOW DO YOU THINK OUR CHANCES IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP ARE GOING BOTH FOR DRIVERS’ AND CONSTRUCTORS’ ?Fourteen races in and we’ve had a handful of results that have allowed Ferrari to open up a small gap on us in the championship. We fight each weekend with strong and dedicated opposition who will leave us for dead if we take our eye off the ball for one moment, but the great thing about this sport is that the opportunity to do the same is always there for your team as well. Every weekend you have a chance at redemption and we’re fortunate to have a number of items that we believe will improve our car over the remaining races. The gap to Ferrari is small in terms of the points available, so our goal over the next six races is to overtake them in the championship and to put Kimi back on a path that will allow him to close the gap to the front.

Finally there is a clear message that Kimi did make a mistake in his q2 lap with fresh tyres and that was it

Allison knows what he is talking, updates don't always work and you need to try them again...example McLarens updates didn't work at silverstone and they were nowhere...but in the next race at hockenheim they already had the best car

now he seems more carefull with his words about how strong they should be or could be...it's good, so we won't have too high hopes at this point.

"We have been consistently at the front, If by the front you mean me crashing out at the start.""It's starting to sink in that we probably won't win a race this year. I mean. We have to get really lucky. I've decided to bring unstable druggies to the paddock hoping they assault drivers from the other teams. But I've been doing that for a while and suddenly Maldonado got a seat."

"We have been consistently at the front, If by the front you mean me crashing out at the start.""It's starting to sink in that we probably won't win a race this year. I mean. We have to get really lucky. I've decided to bring unstable druggies to the paddock hoping they assault drivers from the other teams. But I've been doing that for a while and suddenly Maldonado got a seat."

What strange talk... I guess by Lotus Romain really means himself? I mean, a win is vital for both Lotus and especially for Kimi?

Difficult to know what people really means, and you never know when they mean 'I' when they say 'we'. But he's right in one thing: winning one race and being nowhere the next one brings 25 points, being second in two consecutive races brings 36 points; from that point of view it's better to be consistent than being able of winning a race one weekend and nothing the next. Of course, the best option is to win races every weekend, but it's not realistic for them.

That said if Romain represents the general attitude within the Lotus team right now it is slightly worrying. By saying they're content with what they have achieved means that they lack the needed ambition to turn Kimi's third place in the driver standings into number one and while it is obviously very hard they should still go for it 110%.

That said if Romain represents the general attitude within the Lotus team right now it is slightly worrying. By saying they're content with what they have achieved means that they lack the needed ambition to turn Kimi's third place in the driver standings into number one and while it is obviously very hard they should still go for it 110%.

They are bringing updates, aren't they. Grosjean plays supporting role to Raikkonen. So what more would you expect?

I don't think he considers himself as unable to win when comparing to Kimi, especially when he pushed for it on two occasions.

when did happen though?i dont remember him pushing the leading driver/drivers to the end of the last lap in any race this season.

In hungary and bahrain he had phases where he was the fastest man on the track, but he ended up ~10 seconds behind second place in the end instead.and valencia he was hardly the fastest, that was easily vettel, he had a brief period of maybe like 2 laps where he pushed alonso for the lead before he shared the fate of vettel, but I would hardly call that "pushed for victory".

Grosjean has undoubtedly been fast and has beaten kimi on some weekends,but whenever a Lotus was capable of winning, it was Kimi that ended up chasing the eventual victors.

that doesnt mean he cant do it though!who knows, maybe one of those races he ruined with his start collisions could've been one where HE would chase the eventual leaders or even win himself.

They are bringing updates, aren't they. Grosjean plays supporting role to Raikkonen. So what more would you expect?

You missed my point which was that if Lotus are content with what they have achieved they may be lack that last crucial bit of ambition and drive that is needed in trying to push Kimi and Lotus at the top in the remaining races. I know they're bringing updates and Grosjean has promised his support to Kimi but if what he said echoes the views of the Lotus brass it is worrisome.

Its a throwaway comment. They'll go for a win if they think they can do it. They're just probably stating that the win may be a bit elusive but that consistency is a key factor in fighting for championship positions(both in WDC and WCC).

After the first races he said that the win was not far away... now winning is not that important and if it not come this year it will certainly come next year. Well, consistency is important but this not exclude grabbing some wins, and wins are extremely important for a team, since it brings lots of exposure, and thats what they want.

Fact is, if you have a chance to win you better win because you never know if you will have another chance.

That said if Romain represents the general attitude within the Lotus team right now it is slightly worrying. By saying they're content with what they have achieved means that they lack the needed ambition to turn Kimi's third place in the driver standings into number one and while it is obviously very hard they should still go for it 110%.

But if they won't manage to win this season this will be a big failure from the team and the drivers

They won't win, and it won't be a failure. They'll still be season's main surprise and most improved team. From fighting for points, they have gone to getting loads of podiums and mounting a decent challenge for both titles, with a good but not top car.

They won't win, and it won't be a failure. They'll still be season's main surprise and most improved team. From fighting for points, they have gone to getting loads of podiums and mounting a decent challenge for both titles, with a good but not top car.

That's far from a failure to any of the parts involved.

I completely agree.

Even there were gremlins this year, considering that they missed 4 days of testing, + a nearly rookie/F1 returnee from Rally ,+ lower budget....

They won't win, and it won't be a failure. They'll still be season's main surprise and most improved team. From fighting for points, they have gone to getting loads of podiums and mounting a decent challenge for both titles, with a good but not top car.

That's far from a failure to any of the parts involved.

Exactly, I think this year has already been a success for Lotus.But I really hope they still go on trying to catch that win

Its a throwaway comment. They'll go for a win if they think they can do it. They're just probably stating that the win may be a bit elusive but that consistency is a key factor in fighting for championship positions(both in WDC and WCC).

Quite so. I think he's just pointing out that Lotus is in a better place than Williams or Mercedes, despite their wins.

They won't win, and it won't be a failure. They'll still be season's main surprise and most improved team. From fighting for points, they have gone to getting loads of podiums and mounting a decent challenge for both titles, with a good but not top car.

That's far from a failure to any of the parts involved.

From 2011 prespective, no doubt it's great success. From 2012 having the best car middle of the season perspective: not scoring a win is a failure.

From 2011 prespective, no doubt it's great success. From 2012 having the best car middle of the season perspective: not scoring a win is a failure.

There's that old "Lotus has the best car" meme some troll invented the instant Kimi blew everyone's expectations out of the water first race weekend 2012... This is the Lotus E20 thread. People around here actually know the car. Not the place you're going to be able to sell that crap.

There's that old "Lotus has the best car" meme some troll invented the instant Kimi blew everyone's expectations out of the water first race weekend 2012... This is the Lotus E20 thread. People around here actually know the car. Not the place you're going to be able to sell that crap.

From 2011 prespective, no doubt it's great success. From 2012 having the best car middle of the season perspective: not scoring a win is a failure.

No way. Challenging for both titles is way better than a win here or there. Or would you be happier in Haug's skin than in Boullier's? Is Mercedes season a success because of the win? Really? No. That is a real failure. Is Maldonado's season a success? No, it was a failure.

Lotus has built a good car, Kimi has driven brilliantly and Grosjean has shown great flashes of speed. There's not a hint of failure in any of the elements unless you want to invent them.